ԵՌԱԳՈՅՆ. With the global coronavirus crisis and the guidelines imposed to curtail its spread, Armenians around the world are turning are fining innovative—mostly digital—ways to commemorate of the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on Friday.
Armenia’s Office of the High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs is calling on all Armenians around the world to make a virtual pilgrimage to the Dizidzernagapert Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan and collectively commemorate the Armenian Genocide.
“On April 24, we will all have a unique opportunity to collectively make a digital pilgrimage to the Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide memorial,” said a statement from the High Commissioner’s office on Thursday.
Beginning at 8 a.m. Armenia time (9 p.m. PST on April 23) on April 24, Armenians from the Diaspora can send a message from abroad to 0037433191500 phone number. On the same day, starting at 10 p.m. (11 a.m. PST) Armenia time the names of the people who sent a message will be projected on the columns of the memorial. A cultural tribute program will incorporate classical and traditional music, which will be broadcast live until dawn.
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On April 24, starting at 10 a.m. (11 p.m. PST April 23), the Republic of Armenia President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Catholicos of All Armenians will visit Dzidzernagapert. The Armenian government will lay 105,000 flowers at the eternal flame of the memorial, on behalf of all Armenians. The procession and the ceremony will be available live on the High Commissioner’s Facebook page.
Armenia officially kicked off the 105th anniversary commemorative events at 11 p.m. local time on April 23 when church bells across Armenia tolled for three continuous minutes, and street lights were turned off in Yerevan and other regions. Raphael Patkanian’s famed song, “Come My Nightingale” (Ari im sokhak) played across the country as Armenians directed their collective gaze to the Dzidzernagapert memorial hill, from where a purple light shot up to illuminate the night sky in the nationwide—and collective—commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.